Just one person so far has volunteered to serve in the Bainbridge city council seat left empty by the recent resignation of David Ward.

City officials said only one application for the vacancy had been submitted through Wednesday. The deadline for volunteers is Dec. 30.

Gary Pettersen, a retired draftsman and computer programmer who has lived on Bainbridge for more than 30 years, submitted a cover letter and application materials for the Central Ward seat this week.

Pettersen, 67, served on the city of Winslow Planning Commission in the mid-1980s and also served for approximately two years on the Bainbridge Island Planning Commission in 2009-2010.

In his application materials, Pettersen noted that he resigned from his last stint on the planning commission after “the commission outvoted me to approve a project in the historical district that would have demolished an historic house and replaced it with a modern home/office complex.”

Pettersen said it was an important issue to him, since he had helped set up the historical district in the first place. He also noted that the proposed project was never built after the economic downturn of 2008 and the historic home still exists.

“As an aside, my personal taste runs to the clean lines of modern architecture, but I could not continue to serve on a commission that voted to violate the comprehensive plan,” he wrote in his application materials.

Pettersen retired from his job with the Boeing Co. in Everett in 2013.

If appointed to the council, Pettersen said he would work to keep downtown Winslow pedestrian friendly, help improve traffic congestion on the south end, and be an advocate for the broadcasting of council meetings.

“As a resident of Winslow my major concern is preserving the downtown Winslow as the vibrant pedestrian-oriented place it has become,” he wrote in his application letter. “I love the wider sidewalks and landscaping, the unique stores, restaurants with sidewalk tables, museums, and even appreciate the tourists who walk off the ferry spending money that keep restaurants and shops healthy so I can shop there, too.”

“Winslow is one of the last of a dying breed. It’s a nice, compact small town that didn’t pave itself over with vast parking lots and car-oriented big box stores,” he added. “With Winslow tasked with taking 50 percent of the growth on the island, we need extra attention to keep it vibrant and pedestrian friendly.”

The city council expects to appoint a new member to the seven-member council early next year.

Ward’s resignation earlier this month was the first in memory.

Ward stepped down as part of a settlement agreement that ended a public records lawsuit in Kitsap County Superior Court that was filed against Ward, Councilman Steve Bonkowski and former councilwoman Debbi Lester after the trio were discovered using their personal email accounts to conduct city business, but had failed to turn those public records over to the city. Bonkowski and Ward also admitted destroying public records.